The Thai king is protected under strict laws preventing people from criticising him

Under Section 112 of the Criminal Code, anyone convicted of insulting the king, queen, heir or regent faces up to 15 years in prison on each count.

On Friday, Bangkok’s Military Court found Pongsak Sriboonpeng guilty of posting messages and pictures defaming the monarchy in six posts on the social-networking website.

He was sentenced to 10 years on each count with the 60-year jail term halved after he pleaded guilty, his lawyer Sasinan Thamnithinan said.

“It’s broken the record,” she said about the severe jail term, adding that because Pongsak was arrested while Thailand was still under martial law there was no right to appeal the sentence passed by the military court.